Well, the Internet service provider (ISP) is doing something
about that by announcing plans to use the infamous "cookies" software that tracks
online activity to try and better target their advertising to members, according
to a policy statement recently posted on the ISP's Web site.

This is a first for AOL, which has boasted how it places
great importance on its members' privacy.

Cookies are essentially mini text files deposited on an
Internet user's computer. They can be used to store passwords, screen names,
setting preferences or Web-surfing habits.

Some Web sites use them to create profiles, which rankles
privacy advocates.

But based on its statement, AOL  the nation's largest
ISP, with more than 30 million subscribers  does not intend to do that.

Indeed, since the company made the announcement, privacy
experts have said it's nothing to get worked up about.

"AOL and its advertisers may use cookies technology to
determine, on an anonymous basis, which advertisements members have seen and
how members respond to them," AOL's policy statement reads.

It goes on to emphasizes that "AOL does not allow advertisers
or their advertising networks to use (cookies) on AOL to compile profiles about
the different Web sites that a particular member visits."

Despite all their bad press, cookies aren't inherently
invasive.

In fact, they were originally designed to make the Internet
a more personal experience, but many people have come to view them as an intrusion.